Motion Control of a Variable-Stiffness Slender Robot for Internal Inspection of Special Equipment

This paper focuses on the challenges of internal inspection of special equipment and successfully develops a variable stiffness slender robot. Through the innovative design of the variable stiffness spherical joint structure, a precise kinematic model of the slender robotic arm is constructed based on the segmented constant curvature method, and a complete overall control architecture of the system is established. During the research process, systematic simulation and practical experiments are carried out to conduct an in-depth analysis of the motion control performance of the robot. The experimental results show that the end of the slender robot can accurately complete the preset trajectory tracking task, and the tracking error is strictly controlled within 5 cm. Considering the length of the slender robotic arm, which is 2 m, and the length-diameter ratio of 50, the end position error is within an ideal range, fully verifying the scientific nature of the system structure design, the effectiveness of the kinematic model, and the accuracy of the control algorithm. This variable stiffness slender robot system breaks new ground for intelligent inspection in complex environments and provides a reliable technical solution.